1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the field of containers for storage, protection, and display of collectible items such as magazines, books, and other substantially planar items.
2. Description of the Related Art
Collectible items such as magazines, trading cards, newspapers and LP album covers retain greater value when they are maintained in good condition. Collectible items that have damaged corners and edges, creases, or that show UV degradation due to exposure to sunlight, have significantly less value than collectible items without such damage. Collectible items stored in plastic sleeves which the item to be slid into the sleeve through a top opening can also cause wear damage to a cover of a collectible item.
Accordingly, containers are used for safekeeping collectible items. An example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,953 that discloses a container for sports trading cards. The container consists of two mating halves that enclose a trading card in a recess between the mating halves. The recess includes corner indentations to protect corners of the trading cards from damage. Such containers are useful for protecting items such as trading cards that have a uniform shape and size. In addition, trading cards traditionally are made of a stiff card stock that is self-supporting. Further, the compact size of trading cards permits the container to have a relatively small display window that can easily be made self-supporting, without bowing, using traditional clear materials such as plastic.
Several problems are evident in the prior art. A snug fit of the trading card in the container is desirable to properly protect the card. To ensure a snug fit, the container must have suitable dimensions for each size and shape of collectible item to be stored in the container. Accordingly, a different container must be made to accommodate each different size and shape of collectible item which necessarily requires numerous molds, storage, and inventory tracking. Each of these factors adds cost to products in an industry that relies upon high-volume sales of low margin items, and is thus undesirable.
The above discussed U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,953 receives trading cards that are made of sturdy card stock. Containers for larger, heavier, and less stiff collectible items such as magazines, present a problem of providing sufficient support in a cost-effective transparent container. Further, the heavy and flexible nature of such collectibles can cause container halves to separate where those halves are held together by a friction fit.
Collectors also like to display their collectible items. Prior art containers do not provide a convenient means for display of the collectible item on a surface such as a wall. Additionally, prior art containers intended for differently sized collectible items would themselves have differently sized exterior dimensions making a collection of such containers visually unwieldy.